He Could Have, But He Didn't

It was Christ’s life in a motto - “He could have, but He didn’t.” If Christ’s life were a book, then this would be the title.

Our first glimpse of Him is in a manger, laid there by His parents and adored there by the shepherds. Why is He even there in the first place? What is the reason that He would depart from the splendors of heaven and become a human being? What would cause Him to humble Himself to such a degree? We get a clue from John’s account of the gospel, where it is written, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world.” Before I conclude the verse, I am amazed. Christ did not come to condemn! The remarkable truth here is that He could have, but He didn't! Instead of condemning the world, which He had the power, right, and ability to do, He chose rather to come to this fallen world to save it.

During His public ministry, Christ was one day teaching in the temple. Standing in the middle of the room so that all present could hear clearly, suddenly, Christ was interrupted. The door abruptly opened. In walked a few men with a woman, whom they drug through the temple. Her heels literally drug the ground. Finally, in front of Christ and the vast audience, the men stood her up. One of the men, speaking for the others and against the woman, laid out his case to Christ. “This woman,” he said, “was caught in the act of adultery. Moses said that people such as this should be stoned. But,” the man temptingly asked, “what do you say?” At first, Christ did not respond. He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then, He stood to answer the question. In a paraphrase, Christ said, “What a splendid idea! You who are without sin - cast the first stone.” There are two remarkable details at this point in the story. First, no one picked up a stone. But secondly, and probably more impressive than the first detail, there was someone there who was without sin. And He didn’t cast a stone. Make no mistake about it. He could have, but He didn't.

When it was only hours until Christ is to die for the sins of the world, He was with some of His disciples in one of His favorite places to get away from it all. He was in the garden of Gethsemane. Suddenly, a band of soldiers showed up with Judas, one of Christ’s own apostles, among them. Judas told the authorities that the man whom he kisses is the man guilty of insurrection. Judas walked up to Jesus, kissed the door to heaven, and then hours later, went to hell. The soldiers present then made a move to arrest Jesus. When this move was made, the disciples began to fight the soldiers. Jesus did not participate in it, nor did He approve of it. During the altercation, Peter swung the sword toward one of the soldiers whose name is Malchus, cutting off his right ear. Jesus simply healed the young man’s ear. Then, turning to Peter, Jesus rebuked Peter, commanding him to put up his sword. But wasn’t Peter’s motive pure? After all, wasn’t Jesus innocent? Of course, but Jesus was not about to fight. He then said to his disciples, “Do you not know that I could presently call on my Father, and He would give me twelve legions of angels to fight for Me?” He could have, but He didn't.

Jesus was then escorted from the garden to the house of Caiaphas. There, He was mocked. He was clothed with a purple robe. After all, “He is a king,” they said. “Every king needs a crown,” they announced, placing the crown of thorns upon His head, the blood flowing down His face as the crown is pressed into His skull. They bowed before Him, proclaiming, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Then, He was blindfolded. One of the soldiers, with the palm of his hand, smote Christ so as to “knock the taste out of His mouth,” as they say. Christ staggered from the blow. As He regained His balance, He heard the order, “You’re a prophet, are You? Then tell us the name of the one who smote You.” Do you think Christ had the ability to comply with such a command? Of course He did. He could have told them all of their names. He could have, but He didn't.

From there, He was taken before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. When questioned, Christ offered no answers. This astounded Pilate. “Don’t you know,” Pilate asked, “that I have the power to crucify you, and the power to release you?” Still, Christ did not answer. This amazed Pilate because, deep down, Pilate had no doubt that Jesus Christ, the man from Nazareth, was innocent. And Pilate knew that every innocent man is capable of self defense. But Christ made no effort to defend Himself. He could have, but He didn't.

Then, we see Christ upon the old, rugged cross. The passers-by began to taunt Him. “If You are the Son of God,” they said, “then come down from the cross, and we will believe You!” Another one then chuckled and said, “He saved others, but He can’t save Himself!” Save Himself? He could have, but He didn't.

Why all of this restraint of power? Over and over in the life of Christ, we see that He could have, but He didn't. Why didn’t He exercise all of His power? For two reasons, primarily. First, as Dr. Fred B. Craddock put it, “The character of God is not just power; but the restraint of power.” By restraining His power, He was showing us the character of God the Father. Secondly, had He exercised His power and came down from the cross, I would still be in my sin. It was love for fallen humanity that kept Christ from exercising all of His power.

Do you want to be Christ-like? Don’t do everything you have the power to do. Restrain yourself. When God does it, it’s called mercy. When we do it, it’s called temperance. It is a fruit of the Spirit. It is one of the best, and one of the most Christ-exalting ways to show the world the love of God.

Nothing is Easier Than Finding God's Will

Most people's Christianity is a series of simple things made complicated. Many ministers take pride in how carefully they can complicate the simplest scriptural truths. You are not a good minister if you can take a simple truth and complicate it; instead, you are a good minister if you can take a deep Biblical truth and simplify it! Christian ministers seem to specialize in making the simple as difficult as possible.

A man once approached Dr. Monroe Parker. “I've been visiting as many churches as possible,” the man told Dr. Parker, “because I'm trying to understand God.”

“How are you coming along in your quest to understand God?” Dr. Parker asked.

“Understand God?” the man replied. “I can't understand preachers, let alone God.”

Leave it to preachers to make things complicated. We complicate salvation. Salvation by faith in Christ is literally the easiest teaching in all the Bible. However, if you ask the next ten professing Christians that cross your path how to know that you are saved and heaven bound, you will get fifteen different answers. Every church has a plan of salvation that it endorses, but very few preach salvation by grace through faith in Christ.

We complicate prayer. Some say you must kneel; others say you must quote prayers verbatim from a prayer book. Others insist that you pray long prayers; others demand loud prayers; others promote secret prayers; and others endorse public prayers. Yet, the sum of all these things matters very little in a person's actual time of prayer.

And we ministers are great at complicating the truth of how a Christian finds the will of God. Mark my words – one of the easiest things for a Christian to do, hands down, is to find the will of God. When I was a student in Bible college, I watched as young ministers prayed, wept, and fasted because they wanted to find God's will. Almost all of their praying, weeping, and fasting was completely unnecessary. These young ministers wanted to know from God - “Am I going to be a pastor, or an evangelist?” “Am I going to live up north, or down south?” They would lose sleep worrying about the details of God's plans for their lives. It was sad to watch many of them lack the simple Bible teaching about the will of God and how to find it.

How Does a Christian Find the Will of God?

Finding God's will is clearly laid out in Proverbs 3:6 –

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Please notice that the above verse has two distinct parts. The first part is my part; the second part is God's part. Nearly all of the turmoil that possesses Christians attempting to find God's will occurs when they get out of the first part of the verse (their part) and meddle in the second part of the verse (God's part). The first part of this verse is the condition we must carry out; and the second part of the verse is God's promise to fulfill His part.

The first part of the verse (our part) reads this way - “In all thy ways acknowledge him.” My part ends there. The rest of the verse is no concern of mine. The rest of the verse is God's part – God's promise that He will fulfill. Proverbs 3:6 promises that, if I acknowledge God in every area of my life, He will direct my paths. This is one of the greatest promises of the Bible. Finding God's will is as simple as believing what God said. Period. If you believe what God said, you will never sweat this concept of finding God's will ever again. My part in this matter is to acknowledge God. In turn, God will lead me. He promised. He cannot lie. As a Christian, I have never lost any sleep worrying over whether or not I was in the will of God. I have only tried to acknowledge God where I am, and God has always done the leading. As of now, I serve as a pastor in Indiana. Am I worried that maybe it is God's will for me to be elsewhere? Not at all. I am going to serve God, acknowledging Him where I am, and when I need to be elsewhere, He will lead me. He said He would. He promised.

To someone who wants to be sure of God's will, simply acknowledge God in all you do, wherever you currently are. God will take care of the rest. A friend of mine once stated that many times, Christians miss out on God's will because they are always looking for some big project in the future. I have heard Christians say, “I am going to have a great ministry someday.” And they say it their entire lives. As their fleeting lives drift away, they do nothing for God because they believe that God's will contains something big for them... down the road. Don't think of God's will as being something in the future. There are opportunities to carry out God's will all around you. Serve God where you are. If you cannot serve God where you are, you cannot serve Him anywhere. Someone in very close proximity to you needs salvation. Someone you know is hurting. Someone associated with you is hungry. Give the gospel to the lost; it is God's will for you to do so. Feed the poor; it is God's will. Give to the needy; it is God's will. Lighten the load of a fellow Christian; you are fulfilling the law of Christ – the will of God – when you do so.

Acknowledge God. Serve Him today. Serve Him now. Serve Him where you are. Don't wait until God's will takes you to another location. Acknowledging God is your part. Do it. Directing your paths is God's part. He will do it. He promised.

Written Prayers

What do you think of written prayers? By “written prayers,” I mean the practice of writing out at least a portion of your prayers. Have you ever given the practice any thought? For many of the deeply devoted, the thought of writing out one’s prayers sounds artificial. We look with suspicion at anything done well; anything involving preparation. We equate sincerity with spontaneity. If we pray, preach, or witness on the spur of the moment, giving it little or no thought, it must have been done because we are incredibly spiritual. If, however, any of the aforementioned acts were done as a result of planning and preparation, then it had to be a work of the flesh. That’s how some think, anyhow. I’m not sure how one comes to such a conclusion. I am certain that no conclusion is reached as a result of scriptural exposition, but the conclusion is reached nonetheless. The fact is that most such thinking is the result of tradition, which esteems thoughtless, spontaneous devotion very highly.

What do you think of written prayers? I was standing in the front of the auditorium of a Pentecostal church a few minutes before service was to begin. I was speaking to the pastor, who was telling me with beaming eyes and an enthusiastic voice that he was going to be, in a short time, a grandfather again. “My grandson will have quite a name to live up to,” he said. His grandson was going to be named “Wesley.” Of course, this pastor compared his grandson’s name to that of John Wesley. This particular pastor revered Wesley very highly, as do many Pentecostals (though Wesley was not Pentecostal). John Wesley was a devoted Christian whose thoughts on holiness are soul-stirring. Many Christians, both those who worship more formally and those who worship more spontaneously, think highly of John Wesley. In my library, I have a volume entitled, The Prayers of John Wesley. Wesley wrote out at least a portion of his prayers.

What do you think of written prayers? John Wesley was not the only Christian who penned his prayers. George Müller, in his autobiography, included the prayers he prayed in various times of his ministry. The reformers left behind volumes of the prayers they prayed. We are all aware of Martin Luther’s tremendous courage when standing before the emperor at Worms when he said fervently and uncompromisingly, “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.” From where did he receive such courage? He tells us that, as he was standing before the emperor, he was praying. He prayed, “O Thou my God, stand by me against all the world. Do Thou do it! Thou must do it! Thou alone! It is indeed not my cause but Thine.” The people of God, from the time of the ascension of Christ until the present day, have left us with the words of their prayers for our edification and reflection. St. Augustine prayed this way: “Let my soul take refuge from the crowding turmoil of worldly thoughts beneath the shadow of Thy wings; let my heart, this sea of restless waves, find peace in Thee, O God.” Missionaries with hearts aflame for the souls of men have left us the words of their prayers. Whether you are reading David Brainerd’s journal or Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, it is clear that missionaries have given us a window into the depths of their souls by recording the words of their prayers. Listen to the fervent prayer of David Livingstone concerning the continent of Africa – “May God in mercy permit me to do something for the cause of Christ in these dark places of the earth!” In addition to these men, I have acquired other volumes containing the prayers of the saints throughout church history. I have eloquent collections of prayers by Dr. John Baillie, Robert Burns, Alfred Tennyson, John Donne, Carl Sandberg, Peter Marshall, Samuel Johnson, St. Patrick, Helen Steiner Rice, George Fox, Abraham Lincoln, John Calvin, and many others.

What do you think of written prayers? Furthermore, what do you think of reading or quoting someone else’s written prayer, and making it your own? Have you ever thought about it? Chances are, if you are a Christian who has attended church for any length of time at all, you have already done that.

The month was March; the year was 2003. It was only a few days after President Bush gave Saddam Hussein and his sons the ultimatum that led to the second war in Iraq. I was attending the annual Holiness Convention in Export, Pennsylvania. The auditorium was full for the evening service, which was just getting under way. The President of the Institute began the service by leading the congregation in song. The opening song was the patriotic hymn “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” When we got to the final verse, hands went up all over the auditorium. Voices rang out in unison –

Our fathers’ God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King.

We were singing a verse of a hymn that was written as a prayer. Though the words were written by Samuel Francis Smith, we quoted them, and directed them to heaven, making those words our own prayer.

Many hymns are written as prayers. You have most likely sang someone’s prayer, and made it your own. Some such hymns include Take My Life and Let it Be, Revive Us Again, I Need Thee Every Hour, How Great Thou Art, Have Thine Own Way, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and countless others. If you are against quoting someone else’s beautifully written prayers and praying them for yourself, you have just outlawed many of the most beloved hymns.

What do you think of written prayers? Has it ever dawned on you that many Bible writers recorded their prayers? I was in a particular place in life where I was keenly aware that my spirit was becoming bitter. During this time, I prayed many times this prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Those are not my words. I borrowed them. King David, Israel’s second king, prayed those words and penned them within the Hebrew Scriptures. I took those words and prayed them because it was the request I wanted the Lord to grant, and I could not think of a better way to pray it. The Bible is filled with the exact words that the saints prayed. The Psalms are full of written prayers. Daniel’s eloquent prayer is recorded verbatim in Daniel 9. Elijah’s short but powerful prayer is recorded for us. Paul interrupted his discourse in Romans 9 to insert a prayer of doxology. Many times, Paul concluded his epistles with prayerful benedictions.

What do you think of written prayers? Most likely, many of you are reluctant to accept the idea because in your tradition of spontaneous worship, it is a new concept. But really, if you read the Bible, you have read many written prayers. If you sing hymns, you have prayed someone else’s beautifully written prayers.

What do you think of written prayers? Would it help you formulate your opinion if you could know what a highly revered Christian thought of the idea? What if you knew what someone like Matthew Henry thought about the notion of a Christian writing out some of their prayers? I don’t know what Matthew Henry thought about it, but here is what he said about it:

It is good for us to keep some account of our prayers, that we might not “unsay” them in our practice.

What do you think of written prayers? Do you think there could be some benefit to you if you were to write out your own prayers?  Just think about it.